Segloch, Lancaster County, 2/12/2013

Ohhhh yea your right about cedar run, limestone legends claims 3-5lb brook trout were common as late as early as 1900’s.

I am guessing the half dead lancaster county line stoners all used to have wild native brook trout. Brubaker run and some of those that are spring creeks but had like 20 mill dams on them that perched all their springs
Even skipping over the historic brook trout, the loch levens stocked there are a shadow too.
Cedar Run is destroyed.
 
Ohhhh yea your right about cedar run, limestone legends claims 3-5lb brook trout were common as late as early as 1900’s.

I am guessing the half dead lancaster county line stoners all used to have wild native brook trout. Brubaker run and some of those that are spring creeks but had like 20 mill dams on them that perched all their springs
Lancaster has around 60 spring creeks, all but a maybe 1 or two are totally decimated.
I'm sure it had an excellent brook trout fishery when the settlers arrived.
 
Right you are regarding lost parking, but the survey was conducted prior to the closure to parking.

Swattie is right, but I was not comparing the two areas. My intent was to say take heart, some streams in Lancaster Co are improving.
No doubt some are improving. I am keeping my eye on a larger creek in Lancaster County where some good sized wild fish are appearing from time to time. It's in a mostly urban and agricultural setting. Surprising things can happen. I was mainly talking about the Furnace Hills streams being in decline. And Cedar would be one in Cumberland for sure along with most of them being dewatered over time.
 
Ohhhh yea your right about cedar run, limestone legends claims 3-5lb brook trout were common as late as early as 1900’s.

I am guessing the half dead lancaster county line stoners all used to have wild native brook trout. Brubaker run and some of those that are spring creeks but had like 20 mill dams on them that perched all their springs
Interesting that you mention Brubaker Run as I grew up right by it and watched over the years as it was dewatered. The phony " stream improvement" that was done near Rohrerstown Rd probably did way more harm than good. Yeah Lancaster County has more limestone creeks than most other counties in PA. Many probably are not aware of that.
 
I made it out to Segloch yesterday for a few hours and rather than creating a new stream report, I figured I'd just add on to this already well-established thread. I fished from roughly 9:30-1 or so and the day started off cold. I wanted to explore the "upper portion" of Segloch (east of Segloch Rd.) to see if I could find any brookies. Needless to say, my fishing venture into this stretch lasted a couple hundred yards before I quickly abandoned it. Nothing going on whatsoever. The water was gin clear and on the lower side, but I didn't even move a fish. I'd have to suspect it only gets skinnier the further up the stream you go, but it wasn't worth it in my opinion.

I hoofed it back downstream and fished down a bit, not finding much action below the old run down cabin. I had a dry/dropper rig on (Humpy/Frenchie) and ditched it in favor of a small black jig streamer. I moved a fish not far from the parking area with the streamer, so I knew they were sitting in the deeper water (winter mode). The pocket water, which typically holds fish, was barren. I worked upstream, then came back downstream to go after the fish I moved with an Eggstacy egg under and indicator. Like clockwork, he smashed the egg and saved me from a skunkin'. It was a beautiful day to be out, but the fishing was pretty lackluster. The usual holes on Segloch have changed and the places you knew once held fish, didn't. This stream is seemingly always changing and keeps you on your toes. I'd be curious to go back once things warm and see if the fish move to pocket water. I had an errand to run in Brickerville, which is what took me to the area. It's not a destination stream, but if you're in the area fishing other waterways, is worth a quick visit.

Overall, I'd say Segloch probably fished the worst it ever has for me. I had to remind myself it's late February and it's still cold, so the fish weren't as active as usual. I did see quite a few boot prints in the red sand, which tells me the creek is seeing some angling pressure.

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Segloch on a beautiful late-winter day.

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Eggstacy eater.

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The toilet needs flushed again like it was in 2011, and produced that golden era of 2012-2014ish that everyone posts about. The waist deep holes are now shin deep with sand. Same story on its neighbors. Skunked on my last 3 outings in the Furnace Hills. Don’t have any plans to fish there for a bit, other than Hammer.

My history with Segloch in particular predates the 2011 floods by a couple years. I thought it was junk. Caught a Chub or two, but never caught a Trout until after the floods. It’s back to how it was pre-2011 now. The difference in habitat is mind boggling. There’s spots where I know I’m standing on 24” of sand on top of the bedrock that was exposed in 2011.
 
Thanks for the update. It doesn't sound good. You probably saved me a trip. I do recall fishing one late beautiful February day about 20 years ago. I didn't see a fish that day either. And there still were plenty back then. Any stoneflies?
 
Any stoneflies?
I didn’t see any hatch activity in my time there. I also didn’t flip any rocks to see what might be moving about. It’s quite possible it may fish better once things warm up. I agree with Swattie that it probably needs a good “flushing”!
 
Exhumed. From being buried in red sand.
And you can see the same thing on near-by Shearers Ck, which doesn’t have a paralleling dirt road like Segloch. It’s the soil type and underlying geology, although any near-by erosion will add to the naturally occurring condition.
 
Segloch and Shearers might have reached the point of no return.

Na. There’s fish alive in both of them I’m sure. After the next 50 year flood, they’ll clean out and fish well for a short period. Cycle will repeat itself. Shearers has some massive holes, filled with sand now, but when they’re cleaned out definite big fish habitat. I caught two 15” Browns and and 18” in Shearers during that 12-14 golden era after the floods. To be clear, neither is worth fishing at the moment. And that’s not stinkbait. If anyone doesn’t believe us, go fish them and report bank. Get ready to hose the sand out of your boots too.
 
For Brook Trout.

I’ve never caught a Brookie in Shearers. Even back when it was fishing well.

I haven’t caught a fish period on Segloch since pre-Covid probably. But even during its decline and it started filling in with sand again, my ratio was roughly 50/50 Brooks to Browns. But yes, the bigger fish, relatively speaking for a small stream, in the better lies that are left, are typically Browns.
 
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